Welcome to The Gospel According To at our new time, Monday afternoons! (WordPress said this was the most active time for my site, so it made sense :). This is a series of posts that highlight all the lovely things that make our hearts go pitter-patter in the Human World, then connect them to Bible verses and Biblical themes that make them even more beautiful. This week’s beautiful creature is Birdy – “Keeping Your Head Up,” which I thought would be perfect to wrap up Suicide Prevention Month. Enjoy!
Fandom: Birdy, “Keeping Your Head Up”
Verses: James 5:7-8, Hosea 6:3, Isaiah 35:1-7, 10; 40:13
The Horizontal View: Support in the midst of a crisis
I always like to start these posts with some thoughts on the original, human-talking-to-a-human perspective. In this song, Birdy the singer is talking to someone she loves who has experienced a crisis of some kind. She promises to be there for them, to hold them close until the storm passes and they can breathe on their own.
Seriously this song is SO BEAUTIFUL even just at the ground level, but what happens when God’s voice takes the place of Birdy’s?
The Vertical View: Unshakeable hope and inimitable promises
The truth I’m about to share is something that I desperately needed to hear today. It started with this verse from James:
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7-8 ESV
A YouTuber I love pointed out that this verse can be interpreted to mean being patient with ourselves, that growing closer to God and more like Christ is a process. Wouldn’t you agree that being patient with yourself is one of the hardest things to do? Especially when you’re a believer who’s trying to be “in the world, but not of the world,” and “shine your light before men” and all the other truly important things that we’re called to do as believers.
But being perfect at this is humanly impossible, especially right away. And just like God is patient with us, He wants us to be patient with ourselves too.
BUT that was just the BEGINNING of this amazing journey I’ve just gone on in the Word of God. Because in one of my Bibles there are cross-references for different phrases and things to point you to other verses and passages with similar ideas and themes (if you don’t have a Bible with cross-references, 10/10 would recommend). And one of those cross references led me Hosea, which led me to Hebrews, which led me to Isaiah, which is absolutely AMAZING and perfect to go with the lyrics of “Keeping Your Head Up.”
So here we go:
“Hold tight, you’re slowly coming back to life.” – Birdy, “Keeping Your Head Up” lyrics
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:1-4 ESV
These verses LITERALLY describe a barren and dry and hopeless landscape COMING BACK TO LIFE because of God’s redemption and grace. Metaphorically speaking, this can also refer to spiritual reawakening and revival that happens when we taste the Living Water that Jesus gives. “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” John 7:38-39 ESV And the desert imagery also matches up with the “you’re slowly coming back to life” from Birdy’s lyrics. It’s a process 🙂
I’ll be keeping your head up, darling… and I won’t let you down.” – Birdy, “Keeping Your Head Up”
“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:3-4 ESV
Once again, the lyrics and the Scripture say almost exactly the same thing. God’s commitment to His people, both at the time of the passage and in the present day, inspires hope and renewed strength. But just in case we can’t stand on our own, He promises to be there with us, holding our hand:
“For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13 ESV
I’ll be keeping your head up… and I won’t let you down.
I hope you’ve enjoyed and were encouraged by reading this post as much as I was by writing it. If you were, please let me know! I’d love to hear how God has stood by and encouraged you when you couldn’t breathe on your own.
Happy fangirling!
Let’s connect! Subscribe to email updates below so you never miss a new post from me 💖
Will you stay with me? There’s more to love!
- Happy November, friends, and welcome to another of the Year of Owl City bullet journal posts! This month’s inspiration comes from the newest album, Coco Moon, which came out just […]
- Happy Halloween, friends, and welcome to another make-a-fandom-inspired-thing post! This year, I wanted to do the Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire dress from the first movie, and of course, […]
- Happy October, friends, and welcome to a new series of blog posts! I found this super cool devotional several years ago called Finding God in the Hunger Games, and I’m […]
- Greetings, friends, and welcome to another Gospel According to post, where we connect the best stories and songs that humanity has to offer with deeper truths from Scripture! I was […]
- Happy Friday, mes amis, and happy new release day for Coldplay! Their new album, Moon Music, releases today, and I’m looking forward to listening to it for the first time. […]
- Happy Preptober, friends, and welcome to another writing update! I realize that October is halfway over, but there’s no time like the present to update you guys on how my […]
[…] Birdy – “Keeping Your Head Up”: Unshakeable Hope and Inimitable Promises […]
[…] Birdy – “Keeping Your Head Up” […]